19401: Voice from the Sea (Uig)

Excerpt from Stornoway Gazette and West Coast Advertiser

LOCAL AND DISTRICT NEWS – UIG

July 6, 1917

VOICE FROM THE SEA – On Friday morning last a queer looking craft came ashore at the beach at Cliff. Spectators were somewhat uncertain as to what it was, some venturing the suggestion that it was a submarine, others that it was a collapsible boat, but the general consensus of opinion was that it was a life-saving raft. It was about 30 feet long, 9 feet wide. It was keel upwards and no one could see underneath, but it seemed to be decked above and below. Through a hole broken in the side one could see that between the decks was literally packed with corks. How eloquently those relics speak of the brutality of German murderers on the high seas, and what scenes of suffering, anguish and distress they have witnessed. Bits of wreckage are always noticeable about the west coast of Uig. Several barrels of apples, all rendered useless with salt water, have been found along the shores.